The INDEPENDENT, June 2, 2011
Where to Find Them
U.S. Senator Ron Wyden
(Dem)
1220 SW 3rd Avenue, Suite 585
Portland OR 97232
Phone: 503-326-7525
223 Dirksen Senate Ofc. Bldg.
Washington, D.C. 20510-0001
Phone: 202-224-5244
E-Mail: http://wyden.senate.gov/
contact
Website: http://wyden.senate.
gov
U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley
(Dem.)
One World Trade Center
121 SW Salmon St., Suite 1250
Portland, OR 97204
Phone: 503-326-3386
313 Hart Senate Ofc. Bldg.
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: (202) 224-3753
E-Mail: http://merkley.senate.
gov/contact
WebSite: http://merkley.senate.
gov
U.S. Representative David Wu
(Dem) OR District 1
620 SW Main, Suite 606
Portland, OR 97205
Phone: 503-326-2901
2338 Rayburn House Ofc. Bldg.
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: 202-225-0855
Website: http://house.gov/wu
Senator Betsy Johnson
(Dem) Senate District 16
PO Box R,
Scappoose, OR 97056
Phone: 503-543-4046
900 Court St. NE, S-314
Salem, OR 97301
Phone: 503-986-1716
E-mail: sen.betsyjohnson@
state.or.us
Website: http//www.leg.state.or.
us/johnson
Representative Brad Witt
(Dem) House District. 31
21740 Lindberg Road,
Clatskanie, OR 97016
Phone: 503-728-4664
900 Court St. NE, H-373
Salem, OR 97301
Phone: 503-986-1431
E-mail: rep.bradwitt@state.or.us
Website: http//www.leg.state.or.
us/witt
Representative Deborah
Boone
(Dem) House District 32
PO Box 926
Cannon Beach, OR 97110
Phone: 503-717-9182
900 Court St. NE, H-375
Salem, OR 97301
Phone: 503-986-1432
E-mail: rep.deborahboone@
state.or.us
Website: http//www.leg.state.or.
us/boone
Salem Scene
By Representative Brad Witt
Oregon District 31
Over the last couple of
weeks, I have been get-
ting a lot of letters on
several “hot button” is-
sues, so I thought I would
give you an update on
those bills. The first one
is HB 3543, the back-to-
the-future “kicker” refund
proposal that changes
the way taxpayers will re-
ceive their refund, should they be entitled to one.
When income tax receipts exceed the state
economist’s projection by 2%, the entire amount
gets kicked back to the taxpayer. In 2007 (the
last time the kicker kicked), the refund amounted
to $1.1 billion, and although my mail is evenly
split as to whether or not we should be “kicking”
this money, that is not the reason for the bill. HB
3543 helps the state save significant taxpayer
money by returning to the original kicker refund
method.
Prior to 1995, taxpayers received their kicker
refunds in the form of credits on their following
year’s taxes. In 1995, the Legislature changed
that process to the issuance of kicker checks,
usually in December. Although well received, this
change did not come without a cost. In 2007, the
price tag was about $1 million to process the
checks, and $2.1 million to borrow the money in
advance of receiving the tax receipts in April.
Even with the best of intentions, this doesn’t
make any fiscal sense, hence the need for HB
3543. The bill has passed both the House and
the Senate and moves on to the Governor for his
signature.
Another bill that has generated a lot of interest
is SB 695, which would ban Bisphenol-A (BPA)
from children’s drinking containers and reusable
water bottles. BPA, an endocrine disrupting
chemical, has been shown to leach into our bod-
ies and, thereby, interfere with both male and fe-
male hormones causing, among other things,
early puberty, breast and prostate cancer, low
sperm count, diabetes, obesity and heart dis-
ease.
In a poll conducted just this month, 75% of
Oregonians were found to support this legisla-
tion. The bill passed the Senate 20-9, in a bipar-
tisan passage of the bill. It is now in the House
Energy, Environment and Water Committee and
it is running into trouble. Since the House is split
30/30, every committee has two chairpersons
and both must agree on the progress of a bill as-
signed to it. Right now, there isn’t agreement and
some members are talking about introducing an-
other bill and having it assigned to another com-
mittee. I will keep you posted…
Page 3
Letters
Finally, many of you have written about HB
3145, the expansion of Oregon’s iconic bottle bill.
That bill passed the House 47-12 on May 4th,
and on May 25th, it passed the Senate 19-11.
The bill sets up a pilot redemption center and es-
tablishes convenience zones that would further
facilitate the return of containers.
Some of you have written to object to the in-
creased bottle deposit, from five cents to ten
cents per bottle. I want to emphasize that an in-
crease would occur only if the redemption rate
falls below 80%, which has never happened. The
new law does not take effect until January 1,
2018, so there is lots of time to fine-tune the re-
demption process. Literally scores of stakehold-
ers worked on this bill, including beverage dis-
tributors, grocers, recyclers and consumer or-
ganizations. It now goes to the Governor for his
signature.
Items of Interest…
The Oregon Department of Veterans’ Affairs
has announced that they are lowering the inter-
est rate on their 30-year fixed-rate mortgage to
4.125%. This program is separate from the fed-
eral VA program, so a veteran may still be eligi-
ble for an ORVET home loan. Currently, the max-
imum loan amount is $417,000 for a single fami-
ly dwelling. For more information you may con-
tact the Department at 1-888-673-8387, or
http://www.oregon.gov/ODVA/HOMELOANS/.
Clatsop Community Action has been conduct-
ing legal clinics for the public over the last couple
of months. There is one more scheduled for June
23rd at their conference room, 364 9th Street in
Astoria. There is a walk-in advice clinic from
10:00 – 12:00; landlord and tenant law from 1:00
– 2:00; and appointments from 2:00 – 3:30. The
Oregon Law Center is conducting the clinics, and
you may call 503-325-1400 for more information.
Bills of Interest…
HB 2274 Permits certified peace officers from
states adjoining Oregon to provide or attempt to
provide law enforcement services within Oregon
under certain conditions.
HB 2678 Increases dishonored check fee
from $25 to $35.
HB 3126 Authorizes prosecution for failure to
report as sex offender in county where defendant
is apprehended or last registered, if county
where offense was committed cannot be deter-
mined.
HB 2892 Allows landowners with common
boundary that is uncertain or subject to dispute,
to locate and fix boundary by agreement.
HB 3127 Authorizes parking of up to seven
dump trucks and up to seven trailers on a lot or
parcel of land zoned for forest use or mixed farm
and forest use.
“It is part of the general pattern of misguided policy that our country is now
geared to an arms economy which was bred in an artificially induced psychosis
of war hysteria and nurtured upon an incessant propaganda of fear.”
— General Douglas MacArthur, Speech, May 15, 1951
“If we fail to learn from history, we are doomed to repeat it.”…………Unknown
First Friday kick-off
was a great event
To the Editor:
The First Friday of the Sea-
son, May 6th, was a success,
thanks to the many vendors,
volunteers and visitors that par-
ticipated.
A variety of crafts, plants and
local products were for sale,
kids and adults made Mother’s
Day cards and the Scout Cabin
was lively despite the rain out-
side. Because of the generosity
of all, First Friday was able to
cover costs and make a dona-
tion to Hands on Art in support
of our community.
Thank you to the volunteers
who set up, kept things running
smoothly and cleaned up after-
wards, especially Don Webb,
who put up the Maypole just in
case the sun decided to join in
the fun.
Kathy Larsen
Vernonia First Friday
Coordinator
We need change, give
new council a chance
To the Editor:
Dear Independent and peo-
ple of Vernonia: I ran for the of-
fice of Mayor of Vernonia, a
non-paying job, because I be-
lieved
Vernonia
needed
changes. Our water bill is the
highest in the state and our city
workers are some of the best
paid. The people of Vernonia
earn less than people in the
Portland metro area so cannot
afford to pay almost double
what people in Beaverton pay
for basic services. I was glad to
have new people on the City
Council. I really can’t see how
they could run the city worse
than the ones we voted out.
Please give the new coun-
cilors a chance.
With respect,
Emil E. Rode
Vernonia
Policy on Letters
The INDEPENDENT will
not publish letters with per-
sonal attacks on private citi-
zens. Preference will be giv-
en to brief letters, 300 words
or less.
All letters must be signed
and include a verifiable ad-
dress or phone number.